Rensa Gaunt is on her gap year, and is currently volunteering in a children's home in Belgium through the European Voluntary Service, using her A-level French. Here she tells us about what you can expect from a year abroad pre-degree - to find out more about her experiences, check out her blog, A Linguist Abroad.

I’m the first to admit that I wish I’d taken a year abroad. I took a gap year before university, and I went on to use every possible opportunity to travel in uni holidays etc, but it’s not quite the same thing.

Funding your year abroad is a big step to finalising your plans, making sure you can afford your city and enabling you to really make the most of your time there, without worrying too much about money. Many grants and schemes are available, as well as the chance to get to grips with various other forms of money-saving ideas. Here is our definitive list of what you should keep an eye out before you whisk yourself off to other countries:

An exciting thing happened today. There I was, innocently Twittering away about the magnificent entrepreneurial MADE Festival I attended yesterday, when all of a sudden I was presented with a challenge. This was the sort of challenge I have been unwittingly preparing myself for since I launched ThirdYearAbroad.com last year, and boy was I up for it.

Here at ThirdYearAbroad.com, we’re pretty passionate about the benefits of learning languages. More than that, we want EVERYONE to share that passion, so much so that we’re always trying to think up new ways to promote the study of languages and to show kids just how much knowing another language can positively affect your future.

Some universities are much more flexible and open to this than others though, so it's very important that you know your options before you apply - you don't want to get a nasty surprise in second year as your university prevents you from having the best year of your life!

With tuition fees on the rise, many students are looking abroad for their higher education. Whether you are studying languages or fancy studying your chosen course in English abroad, there are many options available to school leavers across the globe. Financial help, forums, dedicated websites and more are just a few steps away so read on to find out more...

As you are ordering your university prospectuses to study languages, eager to get your final year of 6th form out of the way so as to become a real student, you might feel a little overwhelmed at just how many unis are on offer, what combinations to go for and what you should be looking out for. Here is our uni checklist (compiled by students), to help you pick which Modern Languages course:

I'm the first to admit that I don't really use my Italian language skills in my job. I'd love to - but I don't. However, that's not to say I don't use what I learnt during my Italian degree every day. My year abroad in Italy and understanding of the language introduced me not only to Italian food, art and culture but to a relaxed, happy approach to life (in the sense that if you enjoy what you do each day, you will get a huge amount out of it) and effectively a new way of thinking, all of which has changed me for the better and is thanks to my language degree.